Fur Elise
by Welsh Gem
Summary: While exploring Doppler's mansion, Amelia comes across something interesting that will reveal a secret of Doppler's past. Rated for safty, read and review, no flames please :


Amelia discovered it while exploring the good Doctor's mansion.

It had all started when they arrived back from the Treasure Planet voyage, of which Amelia received a shrapnel injury to her side. Once they had docked the_ Legacy_ onto the spaceport, the medics were flagged and came running with their tools. After a quick check-over, they revealed that Amelia had to be taken to the nearest hospital immediately. However, the finicky feline refused dragged to the hospital by gurney and lashed out as the medics tried to strap her down by force. Eventually, they got her into the back of an ambulance and to the hospital. She was given a large dosage of pain killers, went under-way an operation and was kept in the hospital for a week. After recovering wonderfully, she was told to bed rest for two weeks, ordered to continue taking her pain killers and medication for another two months and was banned from returning to her job for another month after that. For all this time, she would need around the clock care.

To put in simply, Amelia was livid. The drugs she could deal with, the ban was fine because she could sail until the_ Legacy_ was repaired (which would take months) but the fact she was banished to bed rest and forced to stay in hospital for another week made her agitated. However, it was the around the clock care that tainted her sight with red.

The doctors gave her a choice: to stay in the hospital until she was fully recovered or to stay with relatives or close friends.

It was an impossible decision: Firstly, Amelia hated hospitals almost as she hated her family. To her, hospitals were horrid; the smell made her want to gorge her eyes out, even though she'd never admit it, needles frightened her. The muttering behind drawn curtains, the thought of death just a few wards away. Paranoia would hit her first, soon she would turn violent, frightened at the very sight of needles and drips. A few weeks were the most Amelia would go without lashing out, a few months would be impossible.

Her family was another impossible way. After joining the navy, her father had disowned her from the Smollet clan, giving the reason why she introduced herself as 'Captain Amelia' not 'Captain Smollet'. Her mother was a warm and supporting woman but under the shadow her violent husband, there was nothing she could do. If she was to contact Amelia in anyway, her husband would surely hit out. Her brother suffered the threat too; her sister could barely even remember her. Her aunts and uncles would take her in but they had their own children to worry about. Her grandmother? Of course her grandmother would take her, ignoring her son's wishes and rage, but she was an old and frail woman, hardly able to take care of herself.

Friends? Arrow_ was_ her only friend. He had been a friend of the family for four or five generations of Smollets. He supported Amelia when she applied for the Interstellar Academy; he praised her when she was accepted into the Navy. Amelia's father, however, was not pleased and forced Arrow from their family just as he did with Amelia. Together, Amelia and Arrow lived the years as good friends until the unfortunate day he perished.

The only person who was perfectly happy with Amelia residing with him was the good Doctor himself. Delbert Doppler listened to Amelia as she wept through her family history (the memories affected her strongly) and about her dilemma. Eyes shining with excitement, he asked her if she would be happy to stay with him in his mansion. Of course, she was hesitant about intruding on him but seeing Doppler perfectly delighted at the thought of staying with her for three months, she agreed.

Of course, the first thing Doppler made her do as soon as they arrived to his home on Montressor was to follow the medic's orders. He carried her up to a spare bedroom, in the same fashion as when he carried her to their hide-out on the doomed Treasure Planet, and made sure she never left the bed for two weeks. That was when Amelia discovered that Doppler was bent on making sure she followed the medic's commands. He made sure she had her right dosage of pills at the right time; he fed her healthy foods and even assisted her in changing her bandages. As soon as she was allowed to wander the house, the first thing Amelia did was set out to explore the good Doctor's home.

In Doppler's rush to get her bed-rested, Amelia never had the chance to see the house. After two weeks, Doppler gave her a quick tour: where the kitchen, the bathrooms, the lounge, the dining area, his library were, the way to the gardens, where his library was and he even pointed out his room just in case she needed his aid in anything. Amelia was grateful for the tour but still wanted to see the secret rooms of the old house. There were corridors he turned his back to, doors closed with dust gathering on their brass knobs. Curiously, Amelia ventured out to explore the alien home without the guidance of Doppler.

Amelia carefully wandered down the dimly-lit corridor. Her ivory dressing gown was wrapped around her azure nightdress, her feet fitted snugly into a soft pair of slippers. It was still early in the morning and Amelia found herself in an uncomfortable case of insomnia. After tossing and turning around in her bed, she finally tore herself away from the covers and seceded to explore some more of the house. She lit a candle, read the clock as half past six in the morning and quietly sneaked out of the bedroom.

* * *

Her bedroom was one of five in the corridor. The room on the far left end was Doppler's; the room next to his was Sarah's and then Jim's and finally hers. The final room was empty, nothing but another spare bed and closet. Amelia crept down the right side of the corridor and instead of stepping down the stairs that led to the lounge, she tip-toed upwards to an unknown floor. To her surprise, there were more rooms but sadly all were filled with junk. Old sofas, piles of rotting books, broken furniture and ugly paintings scattered around on the dusty floors. Amelia spotted a portrait of a female Candid, a pretty one with a small nose and perked ears. Her eyes shone a dazzling shade of grey, her stringy blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was smiling, dressed in a simple white dress while sitting daintily on a stool. Turning away from the portrait, Amelia exited the room and poked her head into the others. The other rooms were filled with boxes, all filled with old books about chemistry.

_Chemistry? _Amelia wondered. She never had Doppler down for a chemist. A physicist? Yes. A biologist? Possibly. A chemist? Not really. He had rambled off about masses and forces for physics, diagnosed her injury with a simple examination and a soft prod. Not once had he mentioned anything about chemistry.

Closing the boxes, Amelia crept back out to the corridor and found another staircase on the opposite side from which she came. She treaded upwards, following the spiralled steps. The higher she went, the dustier it became. Finally, she got to a floor and she instantly got the feeling that Doppler had not been up there for quite some time. The floor was covered in a layer of dust, her slippers left prints. The dull wallpaper was beginning to wear away, the wall lamps were covered in spider webs. The window on the far side of the hall was nailed shut, curtains intercepting any light that dared try to brighten the room.

There was a single door between Amelia and the window. As soon as Amelia clasped the brass knob, she instantly felt grief. A wave of sadness washed over her and she felt all wonder and happiness wash from her. Amelia hesitated; should she enter a room that gave off bad feelings?

Curiosity won the war and Amelia twisted the knob, pushed to door open with a long creak. Her ears twitching, Amelia entered a sad room. There were no windows; her single candle was the only light. Dust was everywhere; the walls wallpapered a sickly green colour. There were no lights; no wall lamps, no stand lamps, no ceiling chandeliers. It was a dark; hallow room apart from one single item.

A grand piano sat in the centre of the room. It was sleek and black, the lid still open. A stool sat before it, the red plush cushion pleading for Amelia to come and sit on it. The pedals were dusty, the ivory keys begging to be played. It was in great condition, apart from the dust. Amelia analysed the cushion and the pedals; the cushion was flattened, as if it had been sat on so many times, and the brass pedals had marks of shoes on them, suggesting that they had been used a great deal.

Confusion appeared on Amelia's face. If Doppler used it so much, why was it up here in a dusty old room? Why not in the lounge or in his library? Hesitantly, Amelia sat down on the stool and stared at the keys.

_Play us! _They beckoned. _Play us, make some music! _

Amelia frowned; it was far too early in the morning to start playing a piano. What if Doppler didn't want her touching his precious instrument?

_Play us! _Cried the keys. _He won't mind! Just press one of us!_

She gazed at the keys longingly, her fingers stretching out to play them. It had been years since Amelia last played a piano. When she was a child, her mother taught her how to play. Her father had always told her where her place was: to grow up as a lady. Do lady things like sewing or drinking tea, get married and have children, sit quietly and not speak unless spoken to. How he spoke it, as if it was very serious business. He always gazed at her with slight disappointment; Amelia hated it. She wanted to make him proud, even though she preferred playing spacers and pirates with the boys rather than going to tea parties with the girls. In an attempt to make her father proud, Amelia settled for doing a lady thing: playing an instrument. Proudly, her mother taught her and by the time she was twelve, Amelia could fly through Beethoven, Bach and Mozart and loved every key she played. Even after that, she still couldn't get the proud look from her father.

That's when Amelia gave up. She finally learnt that nothing she did would make her father proud of her and she finally decided to do what she _wanted,_ not what she was told or expected to do. She joined the navy, sailed the Etherium and even saved countless ships. As expected, her father was not happy. Amelia ignored him, hurt that whatever she did was not good enough for him but she finally felt happy doing what she wanted.

But even at the age of twenty six, Amelia still loved playing the beautiful instrument.

Amelia gave into temptation; she set down her candle carefully and pressed down on a high key. A minor echoed through the room. Her ears twitched, following the sound down the corridor. Nothing stirred from downstairs, just the gentle sound of breathing. Amelia pressed down on E major. Nothing but the sound of Amelia's own breathing and the piano echoed.

With her feet positioned over the pedals, her fingers hovering over the sleek keys, Amelia started to play:

Her left hand started playing arpeggios alternating between A minor and E major. She moved to a brief section based around C major and G major before returning to the original theme. Through the fluent movements of her fingers and the gentle pressing on the pedals, the melody of _Fur Elise _rang through the room. Amelia pressed lightly against the keys, making sure they were as quiet as possible. A soft smile ghosted on Amelia's lips, her eyes glittered as she swiftly played the tune. She finished the song softly, her thirst to play quenched.

"Beautiful, Beethoven has always been one of my favourites."

Amelia leapt from the stool, ears parallel and eyes wide in alarm. Doppler's lips twitched into a smile, his eyes a mixture of warmth and sadness. Amelia sighed and placed her hand over her heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I apologise." Doppler replied. He stepped forward, joining Amelia by her side. He gazed down at the keys grievously before turning to Amelia. They kept eye contact for several seconds.

"I'm sorry," Amelia dropped her gaze to the keys, her fingers once again stretching out to them. "I shouldn't have been playing it without your permission."

Doppler didn't reply first; he watched Amelia's fingers slowly ice along the smooth surface of the keys. "It doesn't matter." He muttered. His fingers too started ghosting over the keys before he painfully pulled them back and buried them into his pockets. Amelia watched curiously.

"Did I wake you?" She questioned. Doppler shook his head.

"I already heard your get up." He mumbled. He tapped onto his ear. "Candids have extreme hearing and smell. I could already hear you get out of bed and start going upstairs. I followed you, just in case you got lost."

Amelia chuckled. "How could I get lost?"

"Believe me; it's fairly easy in a house this big. I myself have gotten confused once or twice, and I have been living here since I was nineteen!"

A grin plastered itself onto Amelia's face as she imaged a hopeless Doppler wandering around the halls of the mansion, his face furred into a frown of confusion. They stood in silence, staring at the pale keys of the piano. The dim candle light made Amelia's eyes look as if they were dancing emeralds, so enchanting Doppler could barely keep his eyes from them. Ever since they met, she had yet to cease to amaze him. She would be ice cold one moment, then charming the next. One time, she made the whole room feel warm by simply laughing. He had seen her scared; he had seen her weep at the loss of her closest friend. He had seen her leap from the high masts, collapse in pain, and turn away in fear of a simple needle. He had thought he had seen her all and yet here she was, playing Beethoven like a professional pianist.

"Do you play?" Amelia piped up. Doppler's sight tore snapped up from the keys to her hypnotising eyes.

"P-p-pardon?" He stammered, startled.

Amelia nodded towards the piano. "Do you play?"

"No, no I don't." He muttered. He dropped his head, avoiding Amelia's eyes. Frowning slightly, Amelia pressed on.

"Then why do you have a piano?" She asked.

"It wasn't mine." Doppler murmured. A lump formed in the back of his throat. "It was my wife's."

Amelia's hands suddenly pulled away from the keys, she turned to him in alarm. Shock reflected from her emerald eyes. "What?" She gasped. "You're married?"

"_Was_." Doppler muttered. "Her name was Ellie. Her real name was Danielle but everyone called her Ellie. She was a chemist. She played piano, not me."

Amelia's mind was racing. "The chemistry books in the boxes downstairs." She muttered, pale. "Was that her in the portrait?"

Doppler nodded. "Once she died, I put everything of hers up here. I couldn't face them every day, a constant memory of her. I wanted to throw them away but I couldn't do that. I tried to but I…I couldn't. Instead, I packed up everything and dumped them in the spare rooms. This piano," His hands waved to the instrument before them. "This was hers. She loved it."

Twisting the belt on her dressing gown, Amelia's palms suddenly felt sweaty. _He was married! _She thought. _He was married and you go playing his wife's piano you stupid, _stupid _woman! _"How did she die?" Amelia croaked. _Don't ask him that question! Idiot, why are you asking him that question!_

Doppler's hands gripped the side of the stool. "A lab accident. In the chemistry laboratories she worked in, there was an accidental explosion when they tipped over one of the reactive metals into hydrogen oxide. The whole place exploded. The impact knocked her out but she died after the glass cut her open. She slowly bled to death."

To Amelia's surprise, a lump formed in the back of her own throat. Tears spilt from her eyes before she could realise that she was about to cry. A sob got caught in her throat; she whimpered and Doppler's sight drifted up to her. He frowned as tears dripped from her eyes. "Why are you crying?" He asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Amelia cried. She buried her face into her hands. "I'm sorry; I should have never started poking my nose around in your belongings. I'm sorry I started playing this piano, I didn't know how much it meant to you-"

"If anything, I'm glad you started playing." Amelia glanced up with confusion. "I haven't heard that piano play in a long time. It's nice to hear it again."

Before Doppler even knew it, he gently wrapped his arm around Amelia's shoulders and pulled her in for an embrace. They both stopped breathing but to Doppler's surprise (and delight), Amelia snuggled closer to him and laid a soft hand on his own. Amelia stared into his chocolate eyes.

"I'm sorry about your wife." She mumbled.

"It was a long time ago," Doppler replied. "I can barely even remember what she sounded like."

"But still, I'm sorry. Nobody should go through the pain of losing someone so suddenly." She retorted. Both of them thought back to the death of Arrow, how _he_ had died so suddenly. Tears formed in Amelia's eyes again and Doppler gently pressed his cheek against hers.

"Don't worry about it," Doppler gently muttered to her. "The pain fades after a while."

Tears spilt loosely down Amelia's flushed cheeks. The two sat closely together, hand in hand and cheek to cheek. In the flickering light of a single flame and the company of a piano, the two grieved the loss of their loved ones while silently enjoying the other's warmth, empathy and company.

**Hope you enjoyed because this one might be the last one for a long time :( My Microsoft trail is expiring soon and i won't be able to update until I get the software up and running.** **Love you all, review and don't steal or I will kill you...ONLY JOKING! But seriously. Don't.**


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